Emily, our Florida
red-bellied turtle, is a delight to live with. She is very domesticated
and thought of as a member of the family. She has remarkable social skills
both with people and with the turtles she lives with. She knows and likes
her family members and seems to enjoy showing off for the public too. She
came to us fully grown from an animal rescue organization. For some years
after we adopted her, she would do public appearances with that organization
because she was such a hit with the public. This tour is all about Emily
and her spring time routine.

We have never taken
the chance of allowing her to hibernate. When she came to live with us
the plan was to find her a ride back to the wilds of Florida. However,
Emily was already very domesticated and followed me around whenever I go
near her so we decided she could stay with us. She was the first "exotic"
turtle for us, one that would not hibernate in winter. Since she is so
big, housing her inside we thought would be a challenge.

Emily is very heavy
and is not a good climber so she was placed in a 30 gallon breeder aquarium.
The tank was filled two thirds full of water. This worked the first year
but she was quit a dirt load on this tank both eating and pooping. It was
not long before I was feeding her in a utility sink in the laundry and
putting her on the floor for some time to dry off. She quickly knew
the whole house and where her aquarium was located.

Each winter Emily
came inside and resumed her life inside as routine. We learned when and
when not to put her on the floor so we did not have accidents on the floor
to clean up. Her favorite places to settle into evolved from on my shoes
in our closet to having her own "cubby".

By the second winter
inside she was very comfortable in the utility sink and preferred it to
the aquarium which made my life much easier. It is so easy to just drain
it, rinse it out and refill it daily. By the third winter the aquarium
remained empty but on standby if needed. Emily has not used it since.

My intent is to
have her spend one night a week on the floor so she can dry off completely.
I simply place her on the floor on top of an old bath towel and dry her
off giving her a good rub. Then I just leave her there. She will usually
move through the house to the bedroom used as the turtle room where she
has her cubby. The next morning she will be looking out of the cubby waiting
for whomever gets up first. She then proceeds to her utility sink and waits
to be placed back in it. She would hang around the kitchen and be very
sociable but this is not encouraged. You see Emily likes to move up behind
us to our heels to be with us. She then becomes a real trip hazard us old
folks cannot risk.

I do take Emily
outside for some sunshine in late winter and early spring if we get nice
mild days. We will sit on the driveway together and enjoy the sun. She
has even climbed over snow piles. And I take her to the turtle pen to check
it out. I think these short trips outside help her judge the season.

This year Emily
had a good appetite all winter. Then at the end of February she stopped
eating. She also grew more restless. On March 1st two box turtles emerged
from hibernation. The same day Emily had had enough of the utility sink
and was placed on the floor. She remained near the utility sink. We had
a covering of snow two days later. After the snow very warm air moved in
and it was very pleasant. The two box turtles reappeared. On March 9th
I took her out with me while I took pictures of the box turtles. She stayed
around the empty pond and posed for pictures.

In Tour
Twelve I describe how I take the water turtles outside sometime in
April. I prefer to take Emily out at that time if she is not outside already
but Emily will not be happy outside unless she decides to go outside. In
the past she has insisted on going back inside only to decide to go out
the next day. But Emily has a routine all her own. When she decides to
go outside for the season she will dig into the leaf pile and sleep for
four to six weeks while the other turtles are emerging from hibernation.
She does this every year.

While the leaf pile
is cold it is also warming. I don't believe Emily goes into a state of
hibernation. I think she just enjoys some time out. Her routine is intentional
on her part and not driven by cooling temperatures. I do check on her from
time to time and she always appears alert.

In the fall cold
nights diminish the turtles' appetites. They eat less as the temperatures
drop. They need to stop eating and digest the food in them before they
go into hibernation. Undigested food would rot in their stomachs during
hibernation and possibly cause them harm. But Emily did not stop eating
because of cooling temperatures. It was a continuos decision on her part
to stop eating in preparation for her spring sleep. Expecting this I was
not alarmed when she stopped eating.

On March 9th when
I brought her in I placed her on the floor by the utility sink where she
spent the night. The next morning she came into the kitchen to greet me
when I came out for breakfast. She came back to the kitchen and greeted
my wife when she came out for breakfast. I knew then that this would be
the day she would decide to go outside. How? I just knew it.

After breakfast
Emily followed anyone who was moving, first me and then my wife. As my
wife prepared to go shopping Emily followed her into the bedroom and back
again. I had my camera ready and was prepared to record the events I expected
to unfold that day. It started soon after my wife left to go shopping.

While I was using
my computer, Emily watched me and then made a move into the living room
which has a sliding glass door that looks out over the turtle pen. For
all Emily's wanderings around the house, she does not enter the living
room often. And for the five months she had been in the house she had not
gone to the sliding glass door once. I followed with my camera. When she
was ready I opened the door and she went out. All I did was follow her
taking pictures and open the door for her. In pic 10 you can see her by
the door and the leaf pile in the foreground.

It was a very pleasant
day. Emily and I often sit on the deck together and enjoy such days. I
was with her and she was happy to be outside. And she was in no hurry.
She sat and I took pictures. She made no move to leave the deck. After
a time I placed her in the courtyard turtle pen just off the deck so I
could go back in and finish what I was working on.

Emily is no stranger
to the courtyard turtle pen so she was not upset when I returned. I placed
her on the grass by the deck and she decided to take a walk out to the
driveway which she has done many many times. When she reached the driveway
she just sat in the sun. Since she was content to sit, I grabbed a lawn
chair and joined her. I took more pictures while we were there. We sat
there until my wife returned. I put Emily back in the courtyard turtle
pen while I carried the groceries into the house for my wife.

It was now the middle
of the afternoon. I again placed Emily on the grass by the deck. I still
believed she would move to the leaf pile and dig in. She did not disappoint
me. This time she headed to the turtle pen. I waited until she actually
tried to get through the fence before lifting her over it. She moved to
the empty pond and looked around. Then she headed for the leaf pile but
turned just two feet from the leaf pile and headed into the garden area.
She circled and went back to the empty pond for one last look around.

This was the climax
of the day. She had enjoyed our time together and was ready. She turned
and headed straight into the leaf pile. In the time it will take you to
look at the following pictures, she was under the leaves. Her trip from
the house to the leaf pile was typical. She always roams around first.
This day she took more time to be with me before heading to the leaf pile
and I enjoyed being with her.

With Emily settled
in for her long rest, I put the plug back in the pond so that it will accumulate
some rain water should any turtle wish to use it. If you look closely you
can also see a box turtle sleeping on the other side of the bog.

What is different
this year is the early date, March 10th. This is the earliest she has ever
gone out for the season. I hope she is right because I do not need more
cold weather. The forecast does look good.

If Emily does not
emerge form the leaf pile by a time I think she should, I uncover her and
knock on her shell like knocking on a door. Within a hour or two she will
then make her way to the pond and join her friends whom I think miss her.
They are always glad to see her.

I always tell turtle
owners to allow themselves to believe they know what their turtles want
and, if they do, that they will be right most of the time. Pet turtles
are very good communicators and fairly predictable. Emily and I both new
that she was ready to go out for the season. I simply allowed her to make
the move. Other than the two times I placed her in the courtyard turtle
pen, she moved freely. I just gave her the time. She rewarded me with choosing
to spend some time with me along the way.

I don't like to
think of Emily as special among our turtles. That would be like having
one of your children be your favorite. But Emily does stand out. Part of
it is her size for sure. It is much harder to ignore a large turtle and
she can roam the house without the fear of stepping on her. She is very
outgoing and never shies away from people. Like I said at the beginning,
Emily is family.

February,
2017

February, 2017 was
the mildest February in Pennsylvania this old man can remember. If it was
due to global warming, I am all for it. But any weather we get in Pennsylvania
is simply normal. Emily had not been outside yet this winter so how she
could know what it was like outside, I do not know. But on February 24th,
she wanted out of the utility sink. When I placed her on the floor she
went to the back door. When I did nothing, she moved to the door to the
garage and then back to the back door. Of course she also looked at me.
She communicated her desire to go outside and I knew it. I knew the leaf
pile was calling her. How did she know it was so nice outside. And it was
only February 24th.

As far as I was
concerned it was entirely too early for Emily to go outside for her spring
nap even though the weather was absolutely beautiful. I gave in and took
her outside. She quickly dug into the leaves for her sleep. I knew if I
dug her out she would be very unhappy and hard to live with inside. So
against my desires I left her outside.

As expected the
weather did not stay warm. In fact the weather returned to normal average
temperatures which are below freezing temperatures. Emily was only covered
with a few inches of leaves. I worried but resisted my desire to take her
back into the house. I had a barrel of wood shavings so I dumped them on
top of the spot where she was buried to insulate her to reduce the penetration
of the cold. I am sure she entered a state of hibernation because we had
several weeks of freezing temperatures.

I waited and as
the box turtles emerged, I checked on Emily. When I knocked on her shell,
she emerged like she always does completely unharmed by the cold. However,
I will not allow her to go out this early again. It was harder on me than
on Emily.

February, 2018

We again received
some warm weather in February. On February 21st the temperature reached
84 degrees F beating the old record high of 67 degrees F. Just a few days
before we had six inches of snow. Another snow was also in the forecast.

After returning
home from an appointment, I got my wife out of the car and into a wheelchair.
She is recovering from angle surgery. I asked her if she wanted to sit
for a time out in the warmth which she agreed to do. I ran inside and opened
windows and got Emily. I then grabbed a chair and sat and basked with Emily
in the strong sun for about 30 minutes. Then after I took my wife inside,
Emily would sit no more. She literally ran to the turtle pen and wanted
in to go to the leaf pile. I refused to let her in because I was not going
to worry about her for the next month or two. I finally slipped her inside
on the floor by her utility sink.

Inside Emily eventually
went into the living room where my wife was sitting. By that time the vertical
blinds had been drawn so Emily could not see the turtle pen. She moved
over next to my wife and parked on her shoes where she remained until the
following morning.

Now several weeks
later in March and several snow storms later, Emily is back to her normal
routine in the utility sink and eating. We have snow cover and more snow
in the forecast. I am happy she is safe inside. I think it will be mid
April before the water turtles go outside this year. And yes I have spring
fever too.

When
Emily stops eating in Spring

There is another
point I would like to make. Emily often stops eating before going outside
in spring. This is a deliberate act on her part not brought on by cooler
temperatures. She chooses to stop eating to prepare herself to go outside
for her spring sleep. Normally turtles stop eating as temperatures cool
which prepares them to enter hibernation (when the days are growing shorter).
But Emily is inside and warm. I think this is significant. She is near
a window so she can observe the days getting longer. Other than that I
do not know how she decides when to prepare herself to go outside.
I think she is much smarter than we would give a turtle credit for. Because
of her size she is not easily ignored so she is allowed to make more of
her own choices than other turtles. She is one very interesting turtle
to live with and is my best teacher. She deserves much of the credit for
what I present on TurtleTails.com.

I hope this tour
helps you develop closer ties with your turtles. Just give them the time
and chance to respond to you. And what is a turtle "cubby" you ask. That
will be our next tour.